


strawberries and scarecrows

by yaoyorozoops



Series: AU-gust 2020 [8]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Crack, Fluff, M/M, Pie, a lifetime movie, county fair, farmer hinata, hinata says yee yee, rich city boy kenma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25875910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaoyorozoops/pseuds/yaoyorozoops
Summary: shouyou’s family farm is in danger of shutting down. a city boy comes to the rescue.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma
Series: AU-gust 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862572
Kudos: 55





	strawberries and scarecrows

“Shouyou! Dinner’s almost ready!”

Shouyou waved to his sister and nodded. “I’ll be right in!”

His mother had sent him out to check soil levels on the strawberry patch. He’d already done so, but he usually sat out for just a few minutes to watch the crows hop between stalks and fly off to join their friends, repeating in a circle over and over. If he listened to his mother, he’d help the scarecrows shoo away the birds, but he loved to watch. On their farm, they had an abundance of different species of birds, but he liked the crows best. Maybe it was their color, or their call, most probably it was the impression they gave: small, scrappy, scavengers, yet when he sat watching them flying as high as they could go, they were as majestic and free as the other birds. If he were less dense, he would realize they reminded him of himself.

Then, every crow flew off above the barn and into the horizon. Shouyou shot his head as he heard the soft roaring of a fancy sports car, nothing like the trucks he usually saw come through their farm. It stopped a few meters away, and two people stepped out: a tall man with dark, spikey hair and a shorter man-- only a bit taller than Shouyou himself. Shouyou stood up and greeted them.

“Hello, sir,” the taller man spoke. He seemed to be smirking for no reason Shouyou could discern. “Are you the owner of this farm?”

Shouyou creased his eyebrows, instantly curious about these strange men. “My mom technically owns the land… why?”

“Can we speak with her please?”

Shouyou looked behind the tall man, to the shorter, blond man. He had been completely quiet, and was currently scrolling through his phone, offering no help. Shouyou sighed, told them to wait, and ran back to the main house, where his mom and sister were inside eating dinner. “Mom, there’s two men here to talk to you,” he said, sitting down to catch his breath. His mother left without a word, and Shouyou decided to start eating before the food got cold, though he was still concerned about his mom. Natsu gave him a look, and he just shrugged in return.

After a few minutes, the three of them stepped inside, and their mom offered some dinner to them.

“No, ma’am we can’t stay.”

The blond man stepped forward, toward the kitchen counter, where a newly-baked apple pie was sitting. “Can I have some pie?” He asked in a soft voice. Shouyou looked over to his sister, who tried not to giggle. The dark-haired man looked horrified. Shouyou’s mother quickly handed him a slice, and the man left his companion to sit by Shouyo at the dining table.

Shouyou panicked. It wasn’t the fight-or-flight type of panic, more of a… confusion? He wasn’t sure if he should say anything, but introduced himself anyway. “Hi, I’m Hinata Shouyou.”

The man looked up, a bit annoyed that his eating was interrupted. “Oh. I’m Kenma Kozume.”

Shouyou looked over to where his sister had sat, but she must’ve ran up to her room. Shouyou understood why; he also wished he could escape this. But, as the older brother, he probably had some sort of responsibility to at least keep their guests entertained? He wasn’t sure. They never had many guests.

He turned his attention back to his mother’s conversation, while Kenma turned his attention back to the pie. Shouyou tried his best to ignore him.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, crossing her arms.

The man nodded. “Please, get back to us as soon as possible.” He looked over to the dining area, first making eye contact with Shouyou, who sunk deeper in his chair at that man’s goofy glare. “Kenma, come on.”

Kenma looked up, then down at his pie. “I’m not done,” he said.

“You can bring the plate with you, it’s fine.” Shouyou’s mom said, smiling widely. Kenma got up and followed the other man out the door.

As soon as they were gone, her demeanor dwindled, and she was left alone with Shouyou. “Mom? What happened?” Shouyou was indescribably confused about everything that had happened.

“Those men were from the bank. We might get our farm taken away.”

  
  
  


Shouyou sat in bed, staring out the window into the black sky. He could hear owls far off in the distance, and the trees swayed slightly. He couldn’t sleep, his mind racing. He knew what he had to do: win first prize at the county fair. But he couldn’t formulate a good enough plan in his mind.

_ Thud! _

Shouyou shot up in bed and went to the window in time to see a dazed crow flying away from it. He shook his head in awe, then rushed downstairs. He knew what he had to do.

It was before 5:00 AM, but he could still pick if he brought his lantern. He just hoped he didn’t wake up his mom or sister. He stepped slowly down each stair, careful to skip over the ones that creaked. Once he was out the door, though, he ran, until he reached the strawberry patch. Then, he set down the lantern, and got to work.

  
  
  


“Hey, wh…” Shouyou blinked awake, looking around. He was lying on his side, in the grass next to the strawberries, with one of the farm cats licking his hand. Nudging the cat away and petting it, he let his mind catch up with his body. Of course, he had fallen asleep last night picking berries. He walked back over to where he’d left the bucket full of strawberries, and it had been kicked over, probably by the cat. But as soon as he bent down to pick it back up--

“Hello?”

That same soft voice from yesterday. Shouyou turned around to see Kenma, and suddenly he was over-embarrassed about having just woken up. He was still in his pajamas.

“Uhh, what are you doing here?” He said with a red face.

Kenma held up a plate and fork, and Shouyou caught on quickly. He led Kenma back to the house, unlocked it for him, then took the dishes and placed them in the sink. “So, what are you doing here? I didn’t think you’d be kind enough to bring these back.”

Kenma didn’t speak, and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Shouyou got an idea. His usual grin reappeared on his face. “Wanna pick strawberries with me?”

“I, uh--”

“It’s the weekend...” Shouyou said, assuming Kenma was about to say he had work.

Kenma resumed his walking away.

“You can have more pie.”

  
  
  


After leaving his strawberries in the kitchen, Shouyou led Kenma through the farm on his truck, telling him his plan along the way. Kenma couldn’t really say he was listening, though, preferring to take in the sights of the farm. They passed by a barn full of cattle, stacks of hay bales, as well as one or two cats sneaking around, looking for something to catch or some nice place to lay down.

“... and I think we could finish by then; the fair ends next Saturday. Hey, are you listening? Not that I’d know; I’ve barely even heard you speak.”

“This farm is amazing.”

Shouyou laughed but was flattered. “Sure, city boy. Have you never seen animals or plants before?”

Kenma didn’t reply and instead kept his eyes on the barn receding farther as they made their way to the apple orchard on the far side of the farm.

Shouyou parked the truck and opened the door for Kenma, who walked out, still distracted. “Are you okay?” Shouyou asked, half-serious. Kenma brought his attention back to him, nodded slightly, then headed forward into the orchard. “You don’t talk much, huh?”

Shouyou laughed and sped ahead of Kenma, leading him to a good place to pick the apples. Kenma followed dutifully, now listening to Shouyou explain again what they were going to do. “I can win first place if I practice enough… Mom can help too…” he trailed off, obviously talking to himself.

“Why do you need this first place anyway?” Kenma asked, quiet and nonchalant.

Turning around and lifting “What, are you kidding? So you weren’t listening! I thought you’d know why.”

Kenma stared ahead, still going along.

“My mom has been missing payments, right? I mean, you work for the bank. Well, if I can win the prize, then if I go onto the state fair, I could get enough money to pay for the next few months…” Shouyou stopped, finding a spot and lifting up his stack of containers, offering half to Kenma. “You sure you’re willing to do this? It’s harder work than it looks.”

“What else do I have to do?”

They didn’t talk for a long while, and went along each tree picking apples, Shouyou teaching Kenma how to tell which were ripe. He talked to himself a bit, about apples and the farm. Then, he spoke to Kenma, wanting to feel a little less like he was using Kenma for free (beside the pie) labor. “So… what do you do for fun?”

Reaching up for an apple from a taller branch (Shouyou half-wished he’d gotten the other man to help) he answered, “Well, I like video games.” Kenma’s voice got even quieter than usual.

“That’s cool.” He plopped the last apple into the bucket and picked it up. “You done?”

Kenma had a considerable amount less than Shouyou, but he let it pass. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Back to the house, to make the pie.”

“Hinata?” Shouyou realized it was the first time he’d heard the man say his name, and nodded, wishing he’d be less formal. “Can I stay, and help?”

Shouyou was shocked, and a smirk appeared on his face. “Of course!” He was once again excited, and rushed back with Kenma in his truck.

  
  
  


And so they made pie. Kenma would chop apples; Shouyou strawberries. Shouyou taught Kenma to mix and roll out the crust, something he’d done dozens and dozens of times before.

After a while, his mother and sister came in from outside, for lunch. “Hey, where were you this morning?” Natsu asked. Then she saw Kenma. “Oh, what is the guy from the bank doing here?”

“He’s helping me make pie.”

Natsu laughed, surprised. Shouyou didn’t typically make friends, though she could tell he always seemed a bit lonely with just their family. She shuffled her mother upstairs, grabbing something to eat.

After that, they made 2 pies: the first was strawberry, the second apple. Kenma ate one big piece per pie even though Shouyou warned him to slow down, since they’d probably need more pies. He suggested a bit less sugar. Or a bit more spices in the apple pie? There was something off.

“I just don’t think they’re interesting enough to win.”

“They’re great.”

“Yeah, but everyone is going to bring apple pie.”

Kenma looked over to the crust, putting a hand to his chin. Then, he dumped the apples he’d been chopping into the shell and grabbed Shouyou’s strawberries. “Hey, what?” He placed a layer of strawberry on top of the apple.

Shouyou nodded, interested in the idea. Suddenly, he thought of something and rushed to the fridge, pulling out a lemon. Shaving some lemon skin, he placed it on top of the pie and placed it in the oven. He was getting pretty used to this wordless discussion and agreement that came naturally to Kenma.

As they were waiting for the pie to bake, Shouyou sat at the dining table, tapping nervously. “Do you really think we can win? There’s only a week left to perfect this pie.”

Kenma looked up curiously. He’d said “we”. “I get off work at 5:00.”

Shouyou sprang up. “Are you saying you’ll help me more? I can pick more strawberries while you’re at work, and we can split the prize money.”

Kenma gave a sliver of a smile as he felt Shouyou’s excitement rise, something that for some reason made him as happy as when he got a new game. “Sure.”

  
  
  


It was Saturday, and the day for the county fair was finally there. They’d made many slight tweaks to their strawberry-apple pie recipe, and could confidently say it was as perfect as they could make it.

They brought the pie to the judge, but they had to wait a few hours before the pie contest was held. Shouyou offered to go on rides, but Kenma would rather get some junk to eat. They stopped for a funnel cake. (Shouyou was surprised that he could eat anything, let alone something so sweet after eating inhuman amounts of pie the past few days, but he was being surprised by this man a lot.)

After funnel cakes were all eaten, Kenma pulled out his Switch (something Shouyou had never really seen before) and started playing. It was really the only thing he knew to do when he was bored.

“What game are you playing?” Shouyou asked, since it was one of the few things he knew about Kenma, though he’d be lying if he said he knew anything about gaming.

“Animal Crossing,” he replied, stuck still in the game. He looked up only when Shouyou was being so annoying trying to look over his shoulder it was impossible to ignore. “It’s a game where you live on an island…” Although he didn’t typically talk much about the things he enjoyed, he had to admit it was nice.

Soon, Shouyou was stuck in the game too. The way Kenma’s face lit up when he talked about his island and his villagers made him too happy to let it stop prematurely.

But, they had to get to the pie contest. And Shouyou wanted to stop at the ferris wheel first.

Kenma had never been on a ferris wheel. When he told Shouyou, he was appalled. “Just wait until we’ve reached the top. It’s amazing!”

“I haven’t actually been to a fair at all.”

“Wow, we should've come here all this week! I’ve got to bring you here next year.”

Kenma looked down, though there wasn’t much of a view yet. He clenched his teeth, wondering what he meant by next year. Kenma had tried dropping hints all week, with glances and slight touches, he didn’t have much of a way with words. He was utterly infatuated with this man.

Maybe now was his chance… they were reaching the half-way point of the wheel, and it did make Kenma a bit dizzy looking down on the fair from above. Quickly, he placed his hand on Shouyou’s with not much tact, but it worked. Shouyou didn’t move his hand, at least.

He was just looking off in the opposite direction, cursing at himself for being stupid.  _ Why did I say “next year”? I’m such an idiot. _

They stepped off the ferris wheel, both significantly more embarrassed than when they’d gotten on. Unfortunately, Kenma had to remove his hand when they got off.

“Pie judging starts in five minutes.” They heard over speakers over the music of the fair.

“Good timing.”

They stepped into the audience, both brimming with nerves. They’d spent a week on this, they had to do good. Of course, Shouyou had a lot riding on this, too.

“In tenth place, we have…” Kenma tuned out the rest of the contestants, choosing instead to stare at Shouyou’s face, which, as each name was called, got a bit more expectant. Then, he heard their names, and watched as Shouyou’s face dropped.

“Third place?” Shouyou made his way back through the crowd, not even waiting for the rest of the names to be announced.

Kenma followed close behind, concerned. “Hin-- Shouyou,” he called as the other man sank into the crowd.

He finally found him sitting behind the funnel cake stand, at an empty space, presumably where a stand had once been.

“Shouyou, are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just-- Everything was riding on this, you know?”

Kenma sat down next to him. “I… I didn’t know if you were really serious about that. You know how unlikely it was.”

“Yeah, but what else was I supposed to do, huh? And why else would I even do this stupid pie contest thing?” Shouyou’s tone got more and more angry.

“I thought it was for fun. You know. To do with me?” He brought his eyes to meet Shouyou’s, and bit his tongue.

And he took a risk. Before, he’d been staying with the current, getting the bank job his father told him to get, going everywhere Kuroo went, never deciding for himself. But now, he took a risk, and said, “I’ll pay.”

Shouyou was nearly startled enough to fall over. “What?”

“Well, me and Kuroo. I asked him, and he has yet to agree, but yes. I can pay for your mother’s farm.”

Then, Shouyou took a risk, too. He grinned wide, thanking Kenma, then leaned in and kissed him. It was a huge step, no, huge leap. But he knew no other way to thank Kenma besides a quick, impulsive version of something he’d been wanting to do so much for the past week.

For the first time, he heard Kenma laugh. He had to hold onto Shouyou’s shoulder he was laughing so hard. Even with the romantic gesture Kenma had just given him, he hadn’t expected Shouyou to catch on.

“What?” Shouyou’s face went red, he knew, just  _ knew  _ what he’d done was a mistake.

“Nothing. I just. I guess you’re not as dense as I thought you were.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oops, this is late. Today's will be late too oof
> 
> P.S. Yes I realized that strawberries are harvested in the summer but I sacrificed the symbolism for accuracy ok


End file.
